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Related Concept Videos

Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

Frequency-dependent Selection

When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
Evolution of New Traits in Microbes01:24

Evolution of New Traits in Microbes

Microorganisms evolve rapidly due to their large population sizes and short generation times, often exhibiting measurable changes within days under laboratory conditions. Natural selection acts on standing genetic variation, enabling the retention and amplification of beneficial traits that confer fitness advantages in changing environments.Adaptive Pigment Regulation in RhodobacterIn Rhodobacter, a genus of purple non-sulfur bacteria, light-harvesting pigments such as bacteriochlorophyll and...
Genetics of Speciation02:16

Genetics of Speciation

Speciation is the evolutionary process resulting in the formation of new, distinct species—groups of reproductively isolated populations.
Limits to Natural Selection01:38

Limits to Natural Selection

Organisms that are well-adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. However, natural selection does not lead to perfectly adapted organisms. Several factors constrain natural selection.
Predator-Prey Interactions02:39

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 31, 2026

Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli
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Daily Transfers, Archiving Populations, and Measuring Fitness in the Long-Term Evolution Experiment with Escherichia coli

Published on: August 18, 2023

Reciprocal selection at the phenotypic interface of coevolution.

E D Brodie1, B J Ridenhour

  • 1Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405-3700.

Integrative and Comparative Biology
|June 18, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Coevolutionary arms races depend on specific traits mediating interactions. This study introduces a method to analyze these traits, using predator-prey tetrodotoxin (TTX) resistance as a case study.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Ecology
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Coevolutionary interactions are shaped by a phenotypic interface of traits influencing inter-species outcomes.
  • Performance traits (e.g., locomotion, toxin resistance) integrate physiological, morphological, and behavioral components.
  • Understanding macroevolutionary patterns requires dissecting how component traits mediate reciprocal selection.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To present a novel approach for analyzing selection strength in coevolutionary interactions.
  • To identify critical component traits within the phenotypic interface mediating coevolution.
  • To illustrate the approach using a predator-prey system: garter snakes and newts.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a method to analyze selection strength in random-mating coevolutionary interactions.
  • Applied the method to a predator-prey arms race involving tetrodotoxin (TTX) and resistance.
  • Dissected the phenotypic interface of TTX toxicity and resistance in garter snakes and newts.

Main Results:

  • The approach successfully quantifies selection strength on component traits.
  • Identified specific traits in the TTX-resistance interface critical to the predator-prey arms race.
  • Demonstrated how underlying trait evolution shapes macroevolutionary coevolutionary patterns.

Conclusions:

  • The presented method effectively dissects the phenotypic interface of coevolution.
  • Understanding component trait evolution is crucial for bridging ecological processes and macroevolutionary patterns.
  • This framework advances the study of coevolutionary arms races, exemplified by TTX resistance.